


Georgi's Secret

by gabapple, Just_morefandomtrash, ugliegay



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Crack, Detectives, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Married Couple, Mystery, Russian Mythology, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 14:04:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11784702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabapple/pseuds/gabapple, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_morefandomtrash/pseuds/Just_morefandomtrash, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ugliegay/pseuds/ugliegay
Summary: Secrets begin to unfold in a hotel's meeting room as self-proclaimed Detective Victor Nikiforov holds a conference with the other skaters to discuss the mysterious nature of one Georgi Popovich. Why can't he hold on to a woman? What keeps him eternally seeking? Who knows the answer? It seems that everyone has a theory, but only one knows the truth...





	Georgi's Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, i am here to present group 10's collab piece for the yoi collab run by the amazing @motherofcakes on twitter. This has been a wonderful experience as I got to the lead the team in creating this masterpiece. I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Notes: while this is all one piece, it was written separately and mashed together  
> Gabapple wrote the ice fishing emil part  
> @notgneissatall on twitter wrote the lilia narrated part  
> Just_morefandomtrash wrote the vampire part  
> And I (galixr) wrote the beginning, ending, and transition scenes

It was Friday, 3am, in Shanghai, China. A fierce spring thunderstorm beat against the windows of the JW Marriott Hotel. And Yuuri Katsuki was awake, wide awake. 

He stalked across an empty hall, comforter wrapped around his shoulders as he were a king clothed in silk robes. With a weary malice, he realized that he forgot to put on his glasses and that was probably why his vision still blurred despite rubbing his eyes about half a dozen times. A sigh escaped his lips. Still, he pressed on. 

When Yuuri jostled from his sleep about ten previous, he had discovered a hastily scribbled note accompanied but a still hot cup of black coffee. 

_ Meet me in the 4th conference room. I love you. Come quickly. _

 

  * __v.n.__



Yuuri grinned to himself despite the ache in his thighs. His husband had always been the dramatic type and this instance was no exception. He was only grateful that Victor had picked the night after all the excitement of the Worlds to pull a weird, over dramatic stunt. The fond smile on Yuuri’s face only grew wider. 

Finally, he arrived in front of conference room 4. He thumbed over the gold plaque displaying both Mandarin and English. A wave of hushed chatter met Yuuri’s ears and with a smile, he pushed the door open. 

Inside, about two dozen pairs of eyes turned around to glare at him. Yuuri recognized every face, specifically his husband, perched at the head of the conference table with a whiteboard behind him and a manic glare on his face. 

On the whiteboard was written:

_ Skaters Detective Agency™ _

_ Why does Georgi keep getting dumped by his partners? _

“Welcome, Yuuri,” Victor said.

Suddenly, Yuuri felt a headache coming on. “What the fuck?” he said very quietly, but with feeling. “Victor what on ear-”

“I’m so glad you made it!” Victor exclaimed, far too loud for Yuuri’s sleep addled brain to appreciate. “I was almost going to start without you.”

He bounded over to Yuuri, in all his flannel poodle pyjama, bedhead, bleary eyed glory. “I’m glad you’re here, my sun,” he whispered and pressed a chaste kiss to Yuuri’s lips.

There were several coos, a few “aww's, one grunt, and one scoff of, “Disgusting,” no doubt having come from Yuri Plisetsky. Still, Yuuri was overcome by a great sense of fondness for his overdramatic husband, even if he had dragged himself out of bed at 3am for the man. 

He sighed and leaned into Victor’s body.  

And just like that, the moment shattered. Everyone returned back to their previous conversation, each voice louder than the next, all apparently theorizing about Georgi’s love life. It seemed highly impersonal to Yuuri, to be digging into someone else’s life like that, but he supposed that it wasn’t without reason. If Victor’s stories’ were true, Georgi had been with at least a dozen people over the past three years, all ending in devastating breakups. There had to be some sort of explanation. 

One voice shouts loud and clear above the rest.

“He’s got to be a vampire.”

The room went silent, several pairs of incredulous gazes turned to face him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me JJ.”

“No, hear me out okay? He shows so many signs of stereotypical vampire traits it’s unbelievable, and the steady stream of girlfriends? They’ve got to be his victims.”

Yuri rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, muttering something to Otabek, who simply passed over a cat plushie.

“Beyond the dramatics, he’s got an irresistible personality, right Victor?”

“Correct.”

“To be a successful vampire with some sort of morals, you need charisma to lure in you victims and drink from them. Imagine this.”

“Oh god, here he goes.”

Ignoring Leo, he pushed his chair back, giving himself room to gesture without risking damage.

“You’re at a party or somewhere, and a fairly handsome stranger approaches you, telling witty jokes and giving out compliments to you. He’s strange, but oddly charming and you’re drawn to him. Afterwards, you agree to meet again and again, and eventually, you wind up at his place. He’s alluring and you follow willingly, allowing him to manipulate you. You’re kissing and he nips at your neck. Suddenly, there’s a piercing pain in your neck and you feel sharp teeth press into your skin and eagerly begin to drain blood from you. There is nothing you can do, for he is much too strong for you to push away. Morning comes and you are weary, your neck aching and he’s looming over you, asking how you are and whether or not you’d like to stay. You scream and shove him away, fleeing into the morning crowds, never telling anyone for fear he’ll be nearby.”

“JJ, the table.”

He looked down to see that indeed, somewhere in his storytelling, he’d ended up on the conference room table. Smiling sheepishly, he climbed down as the others considered it. Yuuri had nuzzled up to Victor and seemed to be thinking about something, whilst Victor ran his fingers through his hair.

“He’s perfectly fine in sunlight.”

“Twilight. Sparkle sparkle.”

“Yurio, that was one time where you upended a pot of glitter over his head.”

“True, true.”

JJ frowned, leaning back as Chris shuffled around next to him. He pulled his blanket back onto his lap, silently wishing that he’s thought to pull on a pair of joggers before he’d been dragged to the conference room.

“Victor…”

Chris folded his arms on the table as he leant forward, capturing the attention of the room.

“Didn’t you say that Georgi loathes garlic?”

“Yeah, since about the time that…”

Victor froze momentarily, much to the confusion of everyone.

“Vitya?” Yuuri patted his face in concern, breaking his concentration.

“About the time he started being unable to hold down a single relationship for two months.”

Silence came over the room as everyone stopped to consider the possibility that they had been skating with a vampire all this time. There were some muffled noises as people adjusted their pillows and blankets.

“Don’t…” Guang-Hong took a deep breath and squeezed his bear, “ Aren’t vampires… do they sleep?”

“I don’t think so.” Leo paused, taking a moment to pat Guang-Hong’s arm reassuringly. “If they’re undead, why would they need to except to keep up a normal appearance?”

“We can always check. Georgi never locks his doors, even in hotels.”

-

That was how JJ and Chris ended up trying to find Georgi’s room alone, because they were the only ones brave (or stupid) enough to volunteer to do so.

“Victor, why the hell didn’t you give us the room number? You don’t know?” Chris sighed and rubbed his forehead as he paced back and forth in the corridor. “Does anyone know? Oh just put Mila on the p- Hey Mila! Room 394… got it. Thanks, and tell Victor to pay attention to something other than Yuuri.”

JJ sat up from where he’d lay on the floor whilst waiting for Chris to finish.

“Victor is smitten with Yuuri.”

“And Yuuri with Victor. Well, at least we’re on the right floor.”

“It’s going to be hell getting back up to the top floor.” Chris hauled him up from the floor, steadying him as he wobbled. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be I suppose.”

They crept down the hall, wincing every time a floorboard creaked. No matter what anyone said, JJ was not afraid of the supernatural, and Chris would deny it too.

“Room 392, 393, 394… okay. Time to see if America got something right about vampires.”

Chris tried the handle, and sure enough it was unlocked, just as Victor had predicted. Pushing open the door, JJ followed him inside, pulling it shut behind them. He gazed around the room, taking in the carefully organised suitcases. Not a single piece of clothing strewn across the floor as most of them were prone to do.

“Has he even slept in this bed?” Chris patted his shoulder, pointing wildly at the furniture in question.

Not even a single wrinkle.

“We’ve been here, what, nearly a week now? Surely he’s got to have slept at some point.”

“What if you’re right though? What if he is a vampire?”

JJ shuddered and skirted around the bed to open a door in the corner of the room. The bathroom was just as organised, albeit slightly more lived in. It was clearly used, and recently too if the water droplets on the tiles were anything to go by.

“This is giving me the creeps. Come on JJ, let’s go back. There’s nothing in the cupboard and there’’s no Georgi either.”

Slipping back out of the bathroom, JJ hurried over to Chris who was nervously looking around the room, as if Georgi would jump out at them at any moment. Chris opened the door and pulled him out, shutting it behind them before coming to a sudden stop. JJ walked into his back, cursing under his breath as he smacked his nose off of his shoulder blades. He rubbed his nose before peering over the other’s shoulder, eyes widening in horror at who stood in the middle of the hall smiling at them.

“Good evening gentlemen. Or should I say morning? What would you two happen to be doing in my room at this time?

“J-just checking to see if everyone was asleep Georgi. The coaches asked us to because neither of us can sleep.”  Chris rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that his smile was convincing enough to allow them to leave.

“Ah. Well, as you can see I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, and tell the coaches not to worry so much.”

“Night Georgi!”

Georgi brushed past them, sending shivers down their spines as they made eye contact with him. The door slammed shut behind them, unwelcoming and final.

There was nothing human about the piercing blue gaze that they were met with.

“Let’s go before he does something!”

JJ grabbed Chris’s hand and dragged him down the corridor, away from Georgi’s room and the startlingly cold atmosphere that had descended over them. It wasn’t that they believed in the supernatural, but that there was something about Georgi’s tone that unsettled them. They made it up two flights of stairs before collapsing, a heap of legs and flailing arms and generally showing none of the grace skaters were known for. With a groan, Chris pulled himself free and shuffled over to lean against the wall, resting his head and closing his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. JJ flopped onto his back, looking to the ceiling and muttering something under his breath as his chest heaved. It was comforting to take a few moments to relax, even if it was in a rather unconventional place and they’d just run sprinted away from a possible vampire.

Georgi.

_ Georgi. _

“Oh god what if he followed us?”

Chris cracked an eye open, almost half-heartedly as JJ struggled to pull himself into an upright position. 

“What?”

“He could have followed us and we wouldn’t know.”

“Surely he’d have made himself known by now?” Chris closed his eye again as he huffed and patted his ankle.

“Seriously though, he’s probably a master of stealth. We’d never know if he was ne-”

A loud bang resounded through the corridor and he shrieked, Chris smacking his head off the wall as he jumped. JJ scrambled to his feet and pulled him up, half dragging him as he struggled to right himself. They ran past several other patrons of the hotel, sending them squawking (which would have been amusing at any other time) or complaining about youths. Not that either of them could care less when half of them would be getting noise complaints in the morning when the alcohol fully kicked in. They burst through the conference room door, startling everyone inside. Seung would never admit to screaming at the sudden intrusion and no one else seemed to notice in the chaos of yelling.

“What the hell scared you two?”

“THAT WAS NO HUMAN!”

JJ and Chris collapsed into their chairs, slumping as the rest of the room sat forward, eagerly awaiting the news.

“That was no human I swear. He’s got to be possessed or something, I think we’re on the right track here.”

“No human?”  Yuuri leant forward, resting his arms on the table as Victor struggled to keep him on his lap.

“He…” Chris struggled for a moment, looking for the English word. “Impassible?

“Emotionless?”

“Yes  JJ ! That, there was nothing there! Just feigned politeness as he asked us why we were in his room.”

“Wait, WHAT? He saw you?” 

Nodding, JJ leant forward and grabbed a cup of water, passing it to Chris before taking one himself. He sipped at it gratefully, soothing his sore throat from the sudden screaming. It was refreshing and he was tempted to pour it over himself in an attempt to cool down.

“We played it off as the coaches asking us to check whether or not people were in their rooms at least, and he seemed to buy it. But I’ve shared the podium with him and he’s never been so cold and aloof before. It’s terrifying, especially to turn around and come face to face with suddenly.”

“Tell us about the room! What did you see?” Phichit bounced in his seat, phone nowhere to be seen for once.

“It’s so well kept it looks like nobody has stepped foot in there. You’d believe it too if it wasn’t for the open suitcases and water droplets in the shower. His bed doesn’t even look like it’d been slept in.”

Quiet murmurs echoed around the room as they took in the new information. It was highly unusual for an athlete never to use their room considering how draining their events were. 

Organisation was never on their minds either, usually too tired to anything more than drape their costumes over the back of a chair and crawl into bed. Sure, some were able to function a little better after a draining day of skating and press conferences, but no one would ever consider not sleeping every night of the season. 

“You’re saying that there’s a possibility that he could be a vampire?”

“Well if he isn’t he’s some sort of immortal.”

Seung shuffled in his chair a little, tugging at the blanket he was sharing with Phichit. The room was suddenly much colder, and he found himself remembering the childhood tales of Jiangshi that his grandmother used to tell him. Shivering, he fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out a mirror, placing it on the table in front of him.

“What’s that for Seung?”

“Better safe than sorry. It’s highly unlikely that he’s a  _ Jiangshi, _ but just in case.”

“A what now?” Victor cocked his head to one side as Guang-Hong shrieked and leapt into Leo’s lap, eyes darting around the room.

“A reanimated corpse."

“O-or when a person’s soul fails to leave their body due to an improper death.” Guang-Hong eyed the mirror and Seung sighed, sliding it over to him.

“You’re in a better position to try that if he comes through the door.”

“Whoa whoa, better position? What’s a mirror got to do with anything?” JJ looked concerned at their reactions, looking between them and the door nervously, as if he was expecting Georgi to burst through it at any moment.

“A mirror is one of the ways you can repel a  _ Jiangshi, _ not to mention many other cultures where undead or supernatural beings have similar reactions.”

Chris scooted his chair away from the door until he nearly ended up in Sara’s lap, much to her annoyance and his extreme apologies. JJ looked pale, as did several others in the room.

“So you’re saying that your vampires are corpses? As in, actual corpses?”

“Oh no, in South Korea we have no vampire folklore of our own. I only know of them because Halmeoni used to tell me tales after she came back from China.”

“Remind me never to step foot in China again please.”

Victor sighed and rapped his knuckles on the table, stopping the bickering skaters in their tracks.

“I’m fairly certain we can debunk the fact that Georgi is a Jiangshi for the simple fact that he isn’t a corpse, meaning w-”

“He could still be a different type of vampire,” JJ tapped his fingers on his knee, “and vampires can’t see themselves in a mirror can they?

Chris coughed, drawing attention to himself as the room filled with murmurs. Once he was certain he had their undivided attention, he stood, pulling his blanket around him like a cape.

“You do realise that the whole, vampires can’t see themselves in a mirror thing doesn’t work anymore?”

“W-what?” Leo’s grip on Guang-Hong tightened as he looked at the mirror in his hands, “Maybe not for your Western vampires who sparkle in the sunlight, but ours are known to be effective against them.”

“Let me finish jeez, keep your sass until I’ve finished. Anyway, silver metal used to be considered sacred right? It’s been found in the so-called vampire graves across the world to pin them down so they couldn’t escape and wreak havoc, and was heavily associated with the church which meant it was the perfect metal to repel supernatural beings.” Readjusting his blanket, Chris pointed at the mirror in question. “Mirrors in olden times were backed by silver, meaning that vampires would not be able to see themselves in it because it was sacred material. Modern mirrors aren’t, which means they have no effect, so for the sake of us if he is a vampire that better be backed by silver.”

He grabbed his chair and pushed it into the corner, out of sight of the door, and settled onto it, bundling himself up in his blanket.

It was it that moment that the door decided to burst open

“You do realise that it’s highly unlikely that Georgi is a vampire right?”

The room filled with shrieks as the skaters scattered, several diving under the table at the new voice. There was a chuckle before a hand rested itself on JJ’s shoulder. Rolling away, he looked up to come face to face with…

His fiance.

“Hey Bella… Why are you awake?”

“Maybe because someone wasn’t in bed when they were supposed to be and when I inquired about it at the front desk they mentioned that you had all come up to a conference room on the top floor.”

“Haha, about that, I didn’t want to wake you…”

Isabella leant down and pressed a kiss to her ridiculous fiance’s forehead before pulling his blanket off him and wrapping it around herself.

“Hey!”

“Deserve it for leaving the bed cold.”

“And we’re coming back to the table everyone, we have so much more to discuss.”

Grumbling, the skaters crawled out from their hiding spots, gathering various blankets and pillows, leaving Isabella to wonder exactly how many of them had been roused from their sleep by none other than Victor Nikiforov to discuss something. She’d be sure to ask her fiance what the hell was going on as soon as she could.  For now, she decided to settle down next to JJ and simply make sure they didn’t get too far out of hand. 

“Anyone want to explain to Bella what’s going on?”

Everyone glanced at each other awkwardly before seemingly coming to the same decision and pointing at JJ, who shrugged rather helplessly.

“We’re discussing why Georgi can’t keep a relationship for more than a couple of months. Now if you think about it, doesn’t he share a lot of traits with various types of vampires?”

“No, look, I get what you’re saying.” The Czech man, one Emil Nekola, held up his index finger above the heads of everyone in the room. It was easy to do; he was tied for tallest in the room despite being one of the youngest,  and despite the t-shirt, jeans, and overall  _ scruffiness _ of his appearance, carried a certain sense of self-confidence commanded attention. 

That attention, once on him, got him to smile; a lop-sided, goofy expression with just enough teeth to make him look like a labrador retriever. He was pleased, almost giddy at the chance to have the floor, and the enthusiasm was infectious. That’s what  _ kept _ their eyes on him. 

He cleared his throat. “Ah-ha-hem. Yeah. A vampire makes sense. I mean, Georgi’s immortal, sure, but I don’t think that’s what’s really going on, you know what I mean?”

The man leaning against the table next to him groaned, face deadpan. “Not this again…”

“Mickey! Just let him tell it.” 

Emil spared them a glance, but moved on. It wasn’t worth trying to debate with either of them; Mickey was just as confrontational as he was territorial, and Sara was contradictory to match. Yet they were his best friends away from home, so what could he do? It didn’t matter; the story did. He turned back to the group at large, all of whom had looks of concern across their faces to one degree or another. Some even looked annoyed. That wasn’t good , e specially since Victor was among them.

Well, it wasn’t really  _ annoyance _ so much as impatience. They were waiting to get to the bottom of the mystery, after all. 

Emil decided to jump right into it. “Have you ever heard of the  _ vodnik?" _

There was a hum as Victor considered, fingers tapping his chin in consideration. “In Russia it goes by  _ vodianoy, _ but yes. I have.”

That was a relief. It’d make it much easier to continue. “Oh, good. So you probably know where I’m going with this. Georgi’s one of those, but on  _ ice. _ ”

The Russian champion-turned-coach considered that for a moment, nodding, until his student-slash-fiance touched his arm. 

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Oh.  _ Vodianoy, _ it’s…” Victor pursed his lips. “Similar to kappa only more slimy like a salamander; the spirits of dead men who were wronged, that sort of thing.”

Yuuri frowned, brows pinching together. “ _ That’s _ what you think Georgi is?”

“Yeah. Only on ice.” Emil scooted back enough to sit up on the banquet table, wriggling until he was comfortable. “The ice ones are the ones you really need to worry about. They don’t look slimy at all.”

“That explains why Georgi has such fine features, right?” Sara asked, and laughed when Mickey rolled his eyes again.

“Italian women should look for good,  _ Italian _ men, Sara… if you’re going to date at all…”

“ _ Mickey.  _ Honestly. You don’t need to be so possessive!”

“Anyway!” Emil cut them off with a clap, then laced his fingers behind his head. “This is how I know. Once, ol’ Georgi and I were going to go Ice Fishing together after the Grand Prix- before nationals, you know? He said that he knew some great spots up in Siberia, where he’s from, and I’m always up for some crazy weather sports.”

“Was this last year?” Victor asked, squinting.

“No, two years ago. Just before Anya.” 

“Oh right, right. Ahh, the days before Anya. That seems so long ago, now...”

Yuri made a face over his half-empty bottle of water. “Ugh, I’m so glad that she’s gone… she was so annoying. And I thought Georgi was bad on his own.”

“Don’t say that,” said Mila. “You love Georgi.”

The kid grumbled, and Emil continued. “So we went ice fishing up in Siberia. Lake Baikal. Which was really fun; you should all try it.”

“Ooohh! How many fish did you get?”

“Tons. But it wasn’t so much how  _ many _ as it was how BIG they were. And we caught a bunch of them with our  _ bare hands! _ ”

“Amazing~! I want to try!”

“Victor…” 

“What does any of this have to do with Georgi, Emil?! God, you’re useless!”

“Sorry! We were with my cousin.”

“Oh, I adore your cousin; he is, in a word, positively  _ smoldering _ .” 

Emil and the rest of the group shifted gears and gazes to Chris, who looked up from his phone in the corner of the room. He smiled, quite pleased with himself, and waved.

“ _ Salut~! _ ” 

“No. I’m talking about Pavla.”

“Oh.  _ That _ cousin.” Disappointed, Chris went back to his phone.

“Though I guess a lot of people do call her hot,”  Emil said, first disturbed, then thoughtful. “She’s a good traveling companion. We do a lot of rock climbing and stuff, and I thought it’d be fun to bring Pavla along this time for a bit of a weather change. But then  _ Georgi _ got ideas...” 

“That sounds like him.” 

“Are you going to let him tell the story or not,  _ Nikiforov _ ?” 

“What? I’m helping.”

“Be nice Mickey!”

Emil shook out his arms, hands up. “Anyway, so it was Pavla, Georgi, and me…”

-

Georgi was no stranger to Siberia; that had been no surprise to Emil, because anyone who debuted in the senior division knew enough to research the top competitors in their field. This was particularly true when it came to Russia, which had a long-standing history of being aggressive in every sport in which it held territory- ie, the ice. So Emil knew that Georgi had grown up in Siberia before he had been transferred to Yakov Feltsman’s team as a teenager. 

Which is why he had asked Georgi if he had wanted to go ice fishing in the first place. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and, really, it was. 

Despite the lingering gazes into the distance whenever anything concerning romance, relationships, girls, love, happiness, or anything even remotely related to it - and his accompanying sighs of  _ Yuliana  _ \- it had been a great trip. Driving the off-road vehicle through the canyons and rocky, snow-covered roads had been just the sort of intense thrill that Emil was looking for. And when they got to the ice? He almost wondered why he’d ever skated instead of just driving on it. The rush of hauling something with that much weight and force over the frozen surface was intense. Not that there was really any danger; the lake was frozen several inches thick- feet in some places -and they would have to use special equipment to even get down to the fish. But knowing that there was a chance, however small, that the ice  _ could _ crack, and  _ might _ take them under, plunging them all to potential death in the frozen undertow? 

_ Amazing.  _

They’d brought their skates, too, just in case they got bored. 

But ‘bored’ wasn’t a problem. Not once camp had been set up and Georgi and Pavla had a chance to really start getting to know each other. Not surprisingly, Georgi immediately had a crush on her; she  _ was  _ Emil’s hot older cousin, after all. Oddly though, Pavla actually seemed quite taken with him too. They hit it off right away. 

The first afternoon was spent just fishing, and that night, they cooked and ate, and then camped out on the ice in arctic-grade sleeping bags. At least, Emil did. He stayed up with Georgi and Pavla as long as he could, but he wanted to get up somewhat early to take advantage of the daylight, and they just wanted to talk… so he went to bed, and they stayed up talking long into the night.

Really. Talking. About life. His past girlfriends. Her empty lovelife. How beautiful the lake was at night. It was so sappy, it made it difficult to sleep.

The next day, they were all sorts of cuddly with each other. It was actually pretty cheesy in that romantic chick flick sort of way. Emil took over driving and documentation duty, which was no problem, and played leader with the activities- like drilling, fishing, and skating by sunset. That last one had been their idea. Emil practiced jumps and flips while Georgi and Pavla… held each other’s hands and skated in lazy circles. It wasn’t at all like Georgi’s usual routines. He was a Russian champion, but he wasn’t interested in doing  _ anything _ extreme at all. Neither was Pavla. Not that she was really in their league, but she usually liked to skate fast, at least.  

But that was okay. Emil didn’t mind; Pavla seemed happy, and Georgi wasn’t moping anymore. Plus, it meant that they were both on hand if Emil needed emergency rescue for anything. It let him be a little more risky- which prompted him to suggest the ice skating obstacle course with the ice carousel at the end. It took the entire day to set up and test, and Emil was sure that if the lovebirds could focus long enough to film the epic course from a few different angles, he’d have perfect fodder for his blog. 

“Okay, so I have the ice cut out and the tether attached to the jeep, so Georgi, all you have to do is start driving when I get on top of the ice carousel, got it?” 

Georgi made some sort of sound of acknowledgement, but otherwise just kept staring into Pavla’s eyes. 

“And Pavla, you need to be skating along side to record… but stop at this point,” Emil gestured at the water barrel that served as a marker. “To capture the big finish. Don’t get any closer, though; you might lose a limb, ha ha.”

“Mm hmm. Whatever you say, Emil…”

Emil frowned at them both, but neither seemed to notice, too busy making eyes and sighing. It was hopeless. But, they  _ had _ promised, so it was probably fine! “Okay, great. Let’s eat and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll start as soon as the sun is high enough!” 

But they didn’t start at dawn. In fact, they didn’t start at all. 

Emil had gone to bed early again, leaving the pair to heat up the ice- or whatever Georgi had been mumbling about into Pavla’s ear -but he woke to a scream. 

Georgi’s scream. 

“You monster!” Pavla yelled. 

“But I can’t help it, my love!”

“Don’t give me that, I know that you can! I don’t want to hear any lame-ass excuse!”

“No, I really can’t… you have to believe me, my love!” 

It was followed by a broken sob.

Emil scrambled to get to the tent door, and, failing to find the zipper, threw himself out to the bare ice like a cocooned caterpillar. “Guys! Guys! What’s wrong?!”

The fire had died, leaving nothing but embers in their little camping stove. Pavla stood with hands on her hips, fuming. And Georgi was on his knees, hands clasped together, begging forgiveness. 

They barely even acknowledged Emil at all. Only the slightest of glances. 

“ _ Georgi  _ here offered to take me on a moonlit walk down to the carousel for a little spin, but  _ now _ he wants to break things off! We’ve only been a couple- not even that, an  _ almost _ couple -for a few hours!”

“Pavlusha! Please!”

“Shut up, you spineless baby!”

Emil stared up at them from the sleeping bag, blinking the sleep from his eyes. “Okay, wait, so what happened? You guys broke up already?”

“Yeah, can you believe that?!”

Georgi cast his gaze to the distant treeline, eyes full of loss and longing. “We can never be…”

-

“...And that’s pretty much it,” Emil said, nodding to the group in the hotel room. “ _ Vodnik.” _

“You mean  _ vodianoy,” _ said Victor, taking notes on a pad of paper. “Hmm. I see.”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Well I don’t. How does  _ that _ explain anything?!” 

“Oh. Well…” There was the nervous tick again, mouth twitching into a smile with a little too  stress. “Since Georgi’s a  _ Vodnik _ \- or  _ vodianoy _ -he felt compelled to drown Pavla because he  _ always _ feels compelled to drown the women he seduces… but since we were on a lake, and there was a gaping, convenient hole in the ice to do it in, right there, it was too tempting for him, so he had to break it off… wracked by guilt. Y’know. ‘Cause Georgi’s a pretty cool guy.”

More stares. 

“...That makes sense, right?” Emil cocked his head to one side, a little confused, mostly curious. 

Mickey sighed. “You’re an idiot.”

Emil could only scratch his cheek and shrug. He’d told what he knew, the rest was up to those in charge. At least his conscience was clear. 

Yuri leant back against the hotel door with a snort. Arms crossed over his chest wearing an expression that could only be described as both utterly bored, and mildly disgusted.

“That’s bullshit.” 

Before any  of the other skaters could comment, the locked door behind Yuri swung open (again), seemingly off it’s own accord, the young Russian falling backward into the hallway with an undignified squawk.

The group let out a collective gasp as a massive bolt of lightening simultaneously let loose outside the tall windows of the room, temporarily ensconcing the scene in white-blue light.

Yuri looked directly up from his position on the expensive hotel carpets to an eerie blue silhouette, it’s features obscured by the harsh light that crackled through the windows of the room. His heart caught in his chest, and for just a moment the flash of long, black talons  reaching toward him, obscured his vision.

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, and as the lightening passed, sending the room into pitch darkness, all he felt were those cold, sharp talons digging into the flesh of his shoulder.

Yuri smushed his eyes closed, waiting for the killing blow.

The lights of the hotel room flickered on, causing a collective groan from the skaters at the sudden change in lighting.

“Yuri Plisetsky. What is going on here?” 

Yuri’s eyes snapped open to see Lilia still looming over him her long black nails resting on his shoulder. The momentary terror washed out of him replaced by embarrassment as he bolted upright.

“ Nothin—“ 

“We’re talking about Georgi!” 

JJ offered with a big dumb grin, clearly ignorant to whatever trouble the group was about to get in with Yuri’s stern choreographer. Much to Yuri’s surprise Lilia’s angular face morphed into one of intrigue.

“Georgi?” 

She repeated in a tone Yuri recognised more from when she talked to Potya than to any other human being. And as if she didn’t care (or didn‘t notice) the circle of skaters in the room, Lilia stalked over to the  mini  bar,  pulling  out  a  small,  unmarked  bottle  of  liquid from  which  she  poured  a  stiff  glass  of …something.

The skaters looked up to her with a mixed palette of emotion, not questioning their luck of  getting away with sitting in a dark conference room at witching hours after a competition.

“Georgi...” Lilia repeated, taking a sip of the glass and slowly sinking into the chair in the corner  of the room, her form framed by the tall windows of the hotel room, “...is no normal boy.” 

She took another sip, one lean leg crossing over the other, meticulously polished boots shining.

“He is unnatural. Born with powers you wouldn’t understand.” 

Yuri opened his mouth to object to the story only to be promptly shushed by Otabek’s elbow  that deftly jabbed into his ribs. He turned to scowl at his traitorous friend only to see his dark eyes rapt with an intense expression as he stared up at Lilia.

“What kind of powers, Ms Baranovskaya?” 

Otabek almost whispered. Yuri’s eyebrows drew up into a skeptical angle.

Lilia’s eagle eyes rested upon him, and Yuri couldn’t help but gulp as she placed her glass aside and stared him down with renewed interest.

“Powers that do not belong to him...” 

-

Light trickled in through the canopy of trees, spilling in scattered patterns through the crisp Autumn air before reaching the ground below. The path was almost entirely concealed by a thick cover of red and yellow  leaves; the only sound throughout the wood crunching footsteps from  the two youths who strode underneath.

“Georgi...” 

Georgi, at the tender age of thirteen knew well enough of  that whining tone of voice.

“Georgi… where are we going?” 

The black haired youth did not turn around, merely kept pressing forward through the wood, sneakers breaking the occasional twig with a loud  _ crack _ . 

“Georgi!” 

The voice said once more, a little less whiny and a little more angry this time. With a sigh Georgi turned on his heel and over to the source of the protests.

The dappled light bounced gently of Victor’  long silver hair, falling about his shoulders and striking a stark contrast with the deep red of his puffy winter coat. His blue eyes were wide, almost pleading.

“I’m  cold  and  I  wanna  go  back  to  the  rink,” his  sneaker  moved  a  coy  circle  in  the  leaf-litter, “I’m missing practice. I was meant to be practicing my axel today. I really think I’ve got it now...” 

He pouted further to emphasize.

Georgi glanced back up from Victor’s clean blue Adidas sneakers and back up to his face,  cheeks puffed out just so to make him seem even more youthful and angelic.

“Just a little longer. I promise,” he admonished, looking up to the canopy and trying his best to avoid the charming-come-manipulative gaze of his rink mate.

“Promise you’ll salt the rink for the next week?” 

Victor and Georgi had an amiable friendship; well, as much a friendship two of Russia’s  highest  level junior competitors could have at least, but it wasn’t beyond Victor to drive a hard bargain.

Georgi sighed again, gaze dropping back down to his own worn sneakers. He shouldered the gym bag on his shoulder awkwardly. This was meant to be a surprise, not a business deal

“Fine,” he scoffed, more under his breath than to the other teen.

Victor’s brattish expression immediately melted into a smile as he rushed forward to offer one ungloved pinky.

“Deal!” he cried, flashing a heart-shaped smile.

Before Georgi had a chance to say anymore, his pinky was caught in a quick and vigorous  shake. 

Victor, clearly unmoved by the shock of sudden physical contact immediately rushed up the path ahead and over the hill.

“Wait!” 

Georgi cried after him, tripping a little as he followed the bouncing locks of silver hair up the hill and to the waiting treeline.

Victor broke through first, the dappled light parting into a clear blue sky, and open field in which was...

“Wow! Amazing! So this was meant to be a surprise?” Victor exaggerated in English, turning back to flash a smile at Georgi whom looked down at the small frozen pond flanked with red and gold leaves.

“Y-yeah,” was the only response Georgi could choke out at the display of pure delight on Victor’s fairy-like face.

He let the gym bag fall off his shoulder and onto the mound that overlooked the ice.

“I  mean...it’s not the best ice, but I tried skating on it the other day and it’s shallow enough to stay soli—“ 

He didn’t even have time to finish as Victor leapt at the gym bag, unzipping and pulling out his  own skates Georgi had packed in along side his worn pair of skates, spare clothes, and Sony walkman.

Not wanting to stumble over his words any longer, Georgi heeled off his sneakers, working over his laces as Victor was already stumbling down the mound and onto the ice. Slipping off his blade guards, Victor threw the white and blue shucks of plastic aside and glided out effortlessly onto the pond.

Georgi almost tripped down the hill, pulling off his own skate guards as Victor laughed and twirled a quick circle on the pond. With a few quick steps he was alongside Victor, blades digging patterns into the ice with smooth motions.

“This  is  so  cool!  You  think  Yakov  would  let  us  come  practice  here?  It’s so close to the rink! How’d you find this place anyway?”  Victor babbled excitedly, turning his heel to effortless  skate backward to overtake Georgi, deftly avoiding the dead leaves that littered the surface of the ice.

Georgi, momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden conversation turned also, skates moving fast to catch up with Victor going so fast now his silver hair flowed almost horizontally across his own face.

“I just had a feeling.” 

He muttered into the wool of his scarf. A feeling was perhaps an understatement, though Georgi couldn’t exactly admit to his rinkmate his felt an unusual and compelling call to investigate  mystic disturbances in energy close to the rink. He hardly needed to make himself seem like anymore of a freak Victor no doubt thought he was already.

Victor, as always oblivious to Georgi’s  discomfort, hummed  _ t.A.T.u _ . under his breath softly as  they continued to circle the rink. There was a familiar gleam that shone suddenly from within his blue eyes.

“I’m going to practice my axel here,” Victor declared, stopping suddenly with a smooth edge of his skate to scrape up ice flakes with a harsh grinding noise.

Georgi opened his mouth to answer, but before he could issue any type of response the feeling  was back. A niggling press in the back of his skull; an unnatural sensation that sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he stood helplessly on the side of the frozen pond. He blinked rapidly, black lashes catching on his cheeks as he tried to will away the uncomfortable shift in energies around him.

Victor gathered up speed as he skated to the far side of the pond. The feeling of uneasiness  grew as Georgi looked down to the ice between his skates to see a thick, angular fracture.

Victor’s silver hair whipped behind him as he turned to set up the triple axel.

Georgi’s heart caught in his throat as his eyes followed the fracture to the centre of the pond. The black, ichorous energy crackling around his ears, and with a sharp pop, Victor launched  into the air of the front of his skate, spinning a perfect three rotations.

There was a sudden, and unnatural loud crack of ice and the buzzing in Georgi’s ears escalated  to a roar. Without thinking he rushed forward into the centre of the ice, gloved hands held tight over his ears trying to will away the terrible cackle of something, someone?

Victor landed the axel easily, a cocky smile painting his youthful features, hair falling back to his shoulders as he exited his landing.

“Did you see that, Geo—“ 

Georgi was on his knees in the centre of the ice, hands gripped over his ears and mouth open in a silent scream. Victor’s eyes widened as he took a step forward to skate over to his rinkmate.

And the ice gave way.

The horrible rending of ice and the hideous cackle inside his skull was suddenly gone as Georgi looked up just in time to see Victor falling through the ice and into the freezing water below. 

“Vitya!” 

Georgi yelled, scrambling forward on his knees  to the fracture in the ice. Without stopping to think he lay on the ice, thrusting his arms downward into the frigid water and failing for something, anything.

The cold water splashed around him chaotically as his hand brushed against something.

Georgi grasped awkwardly with both hands under the water, his scarf and chest already soaked,  and with what minimal strength a thirteen-year-old could muster, pulled. The surface of the water broke to reveal Victor’s unmoving arm clad in his red puffy sweater. 

Grunting and crying into the cold air, Georgi pulled harder, both hands grasping onto Victor’s forearm as he heaved upward… only to find a competing pull from down below. With a sudden yank from the unseen force underneath, Georgi tumbled into the icy water, still grasping Victor’s arm.

His senses were immediately overwhelmed by the freezing liquid. Blindly, he pulled on Victor’s unmoving body which was suspended within the body of water. There was a thin  shard  of  light  from the fracture above them that illuminated the otherworldly scene in a single blue stripe.

Georgi blinked, eyes burning from the water. Below him, long, black nails dug into Victor’s ankle beyond which loomed an angular white face haloed by long black hair.

Unthinking, Georgi  gasped, his body expecting a rush of  icy water though only finding breath in  the confines of the magical lake.

“Let him go!” Georgi yelled, water bubbling from his mouth violently.

The  expressionless white face stared unblinking, angular cheekbones struck in a harsh blue light that trickled down from the fracture above. It’s long black nails only sunk in deeper, a thin  column of red working it’s way upward into Georgi’ s vision.

He caught sight of Victor’s face, white, almost blue now, silver hair flowing about him in the icy liquid.

The witch below him cracked a sharp-toothed grin and pulled at Victor again.

“Give him to me,” the voice of the crone whispered inside his skull, though her evil grin did not relent, “And I will give you powers beyond your wildest dreams, mystic child.” Georgi paused looking only at the unflinching black eyes of the witch. His hands relenting just a little on Victor’s jacket.

The witch grinned wider, moving to drag the silver haired teen down into the black and icy depths.

With a sudden yell and explosion of bubbles from his open mouth Georgi lunged forward, one  foot leading as he kicked out his blade into the witch’s wrist, cutting the white flesh and letting loose a terrible shriek from the crone.

Her high-pitched shriek vibrated the water around them, her long-fingered hand weakening just long enough for Georgi to wrench Victor’s body away and push up to the surface, back to the single stripe of white light.

Swimming with some sudden and unnatural gift of strength he glanced down just long enough to  see the witch shrieking and thrashing in the depths.

“Curse you boy! Curse you and everything you will ever love! Hex on you for the rest of your days you miserable child; you will never find love and you will never find true power!” 

The high pitched wail continued as the crone disappeared into the blackness and Georgi broke  the surface of the water.

The light hit both Georgi and Victor’s face suddenly. The bright blue sky overhead shining down over the pond, fractured in spider-lines of cracks. Georgi gasped harshly coughing the icy water  from his lungs as he gripped Victor’s shoulders to keep his head from lolling back down into the  water. With what little strength Georgi could muster in his burning muscles he hauled himself and Victor back up onto the edge of the ice.

A thin line of blood trailed from the water and up to where Victor lay unmoving on the frozen pond.

“No...” 

Georgi gasped, one shaking hand moving away the wet strands of silver hair away from his rinkmate’s deathly white face. He felt his eyes burn with  tears, hands gripping into the red jacket over Victor’s heart.

“No… this is all my fault… you can’t...” 

His shoulders shook as his body was wracked with chills, and a sudden, pressing weight inside his chest. The world turned silent for just a moment where all he could hear was his own heart beating.

“Vitya! Georgi!” 

A booming cry overhead had him look up to Yakov. The old man sliding down the edge of the mound, past the opened gym bag and onto the edges of the pond.

“Get to the edge of the ice, now!” Yakov boomed, square face wrought with a mix of anger and absolute terror at the sight of Georgi kneeling on the ice over Victor’s unmoving form.

There was a sudden cough and gurgle below him.

“Yakov...” 

Victor wheezed, blue eyes cracking open, head lolling to the side to glance over to where his coach stood at the edge of the pond.

“I did the triple axel.” 

Georgi sucked a breath inward, a single tear still marking it’s way to his chin as Victor smiled.

-

There was silence as Lilia threw back her head, downing the rest of her glass in one smooth movement.

“T-that’s not really true is it?” Yuri stuttered, suddenly uncaring he sounded like such a dweeb.

Lilia put her bottle of … whatever it was … back into the fridge  looming over the group of  young skaters. Her long black nails tapping to a silent tune as she crossed her arms one over the other.

The thunder rumbled again outside the windows.

“That’s for you to decide.”

Everyone stared, bug eyed in disbelief.

Victor let out a nervous chuckle. “Okaaaay,” he said, glaring at Yuuri wild wild eyes. “Anyone else have a theory?”

He was met with quiet. All the skaters lapsed into stunned silence, Lilia’s story sinking in. A crackle of lightning illuminated the room. The woman herself continued mixing her drink as if she hadn't just told one of the most chilling and expected them to believe it. 

Unbothered, Yuuri turned to the whiteboard and wrote down, ‘cursed by witch’ as the third bullet point. 

“Alrighty then that-”

The door flung open yet again with another crack of lightening. Yuuri emitted a sigh and pivoted on his heel. It was 4:37am. He was tired, and just a little bit fed up with everyone’s over dramatic antics. 

But when he saw who was at the door, he felt his heart seize up. 

It was Georgi, but not quite Georgi. He had icy blue antlers connected to his temples and glowing eyes, skin as pale as moonlight. The tips of his fingers sharpened out into spikes. His stance just emitted pure evil, yet his face smoothness out into a smile. 

“Oh hello,” he said, pleasantly, ignorant of his fellows skaters gaping at him. “I heard there was something going on in the conference room.”

“Holy shit,” Yuri whispered. 

Georgi paused to read the whiteboard. He blinked once and slowly all his abnormal features smoothened back into Georgi’s regular face. A good natured chuckle escaped his mouth. “If you wanted to know, you guys could've just asked?”

Victor looked as if he were going to burst out screaming at any second. Everyone, including Lilia, seemed on the verge of either crying or running away. Yuri wouldn't stop whispering curses under his breath. JJ and Chris threw their blankets over their heads, cowering beneath the covers.

Breathless with both awe and fear, Victor said, “What are you?”

An impeccably shaped eyebrow quirked upward on Georgi’s face. A smirk spread it’s way across pale, glistening lips. “Madame Baranovskaya was partial correct.” His tone was oddly formal, so far away from the over dramatic Georgi everyone knew and loved. It unnerved Victor almost as much as it excited him.

“How so?” he shot back, voice unwavering.

That blue glow encircled Georgi’s irises again. He flitted his wrist and bursted tiny snowflake, frozen in small intricate patterns, to life. Gasps filled the room. “I’m an ice witch,” he said, rather cheerily, popping into one of the free chairs and making a few make snowflakes dance in his palm.

“Holy shit,” Yuri said for what has to be the one-hundredth time that night. “Like for real?”

“Yes.”

His eyes widened. “Georgi…you’re so cool.”

The statement seemed to have shattered the frightened air in the room. The skaters all busted out into giggles, a mixed cocktail of sleep deprivation and disbelief bubbling over into pure hysteria. Yuri took a moment to process that he had actually given a genuine compliment and then found it within himself to feel embarrassed. A light flush crawled up his cheeks.

“That’s not what most of my ex’s thought…” Georgi trailed off. A far off look of sadness filled his eyes. “Most dumped me the moment I told them about my powers, claiming that I was either making it up or quiet simply, a monster, and not that they’re wrong…”

Chris took that exact moment to pop his head from under his blanket shield. “Well then they’re stupid because you’re a great person regardless if you’re some weird cryptid or not,” He proclaimed. “You’re quite the catch Georgi. I  _ do _ know a couple of people who are into cryptid fu-”

“And that’s enough of that,” Sara cut him off, slapping her hand over his mouth. “I think we are all in agreement that we should go back to our hotel rooms, go to sleep, and forget this even happened at all.”

Lilia downed the rest of drink in one go, slamming it down onto the table as if she were stating her agreement. “I think that is best,” she said, her accent becoming especially thick, though it was not certain that the alcohol was to blame or the exhaustion. 

Every skater nodded their approval, even Georgi, who looked rather weary himself. One by one, they all shuffled out of the conference room, either clinging onto someone or staring off into the distance as if their understanding of reality had just been flipped on its head.  

Georgi was the last to go. He turned towards Victor and Yuuri, cuddled together on the seat at the head of the table. “Thank you for your concerns about my love life, but I’m certain I can manage on my own.” He bowed and then, with a light bounce in his step, he whooshed away, leaving the couple to themselves to contemplate existence together.

“Holy shit,” Victor whispered, sounding very much like Yuri.

Yuuri turned his head to look directly into Victor’s eyes. “Georgi’s a fucking ice witch,” he cursed.

“I know”

A beat of silence, a couple more seconds of awkward eye contact before they both crack with hysterical laughter. “Georgi's a witch,” Yuuri breathes again, between snorts of giggles.

They stayed like that for awhile, laughing their asses off about stupid skaters and their dumb antics and every time they think the joke had gotten old, they lapsed into cackles again.

It was 5am when they finally got to bed. Cuddled up against his husband’s chest, Yuuri let out one final sigh. He couldn’t help but say it one last time for good measure. “Georgi Popivich is an ice witch,” he breathed.

The giggling started again. Victor’s low, throaty chuckles echoed in his ear. They fell asleep curled around each other, warm smiles still on their faces.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed our piece! All reads, comments, and/or kudos are much appreciated.


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